Ive been a long time reader of these message boards for years actually. never really on the holistic topic section. Ive been feeling really torn up about my face the last couple of days because I went to the dermatologist and she prescribed me isotretinoin or accutane as it formally was, I was so excited I breathed a sigh of relief and ran down to the lab to get my first blood work done. Went down to the pharmacy and picked up the drug and here it sits right in front of me, 40mg capsules..... However after reading some of the people that posted on the message board about some of the effects that may occur because of it and because of the long term effects. I can't bring myself to put this stuff in my body. I'm so torn....... ive tried everything possible to treat this condition. I juiced organic vegetables and ate nothing else for an entire month... took fish oil and zinc.... antibiotics topicals everything.... im down to the wire... I was a biology major in college, and learned about biochemistry and how delicate and fragile our cells are. Took drugs and society and learned about the wrongs of big pharma and how corrupt our medical system is. I decided to call the derm and ask her about her past experience with the drug. She was nice in the office and said your going to love your skin after this... when I called because I was concerned she seemed annoyed that I was even questioning the drug I could tell by the sound of her voice , she said "well you can find horror stories on the internet about nearly everything" she used car crashes as an example, and I just thought that doesnt relate to any of this.... I cant bring myself to put this chemotherapy drug into my healthy young body. If it did wreak havoc on my body I couldnt bare to live with myself afterwords. I sit here staring at the cure for what bothers me. Or the poison that will leave me crippled. Ive never faced such a difficult decision but id rather not look in the mirror and face the sun. Then have to turn away because the treatment has made me so sensitive to light, or cant get out of bed because it has destroyed my joints 10 yrs down the road.

I would enjoy to hear what you guys and gals say about this, for now ill just get these pills out of sight. Ive only recently come to fully understand how messed up our food system is... but have made extensive action in my personal life trying to do my part in solving it. I too have adopted the whole foods plant based diet for about 3 months now.... the first month I did a juice cleanse of nothing but kale, celery, ginger, apples, and other leafy dark green vegetables. I saw a documentary on netflix called fat sick and nearly dead. Thought about my acne and said what the hell. I do feel great and have considerably reduced the number of lesions on my face. Dropped 35 lbs and have been working out and running for 2 months. My body feels great. No doubt. I am gluten free and have not consumed any grains or processed foods. I take zinc, fish oil, b12, and kelp extract, as well as vit D. I recently started an internship at an organic farm that takes into consideration the depleted soils and uses cover crops to replenish the nutrients. Ive gained the benefits of adopting a healthy lifestyle, I love working outside and have decided that organic farming is what I am going to do with my life. I am even working getting to the place where I want to do it... Hawaii.... where the soil is rich with nutrients from the volcanoes. I believe thats a place where I can truly be happy.Any Advice?

What is the severity of your acne, and how has it changed with the introduction of this diet? Do you eat anything else besides fruits and vegetables? Did you ever get checked for food sensitivities?

I have read that people's skin got worse or was just as bad while juicing/on a raw diet. It's because the skin was detoxing and ridding the body of toxins. A lot of people said that this process takes several months but is eventually extremely beneficial for your skin in the end.

Also, I took Accutane twice in 2005 and 2006 when my acne was very mild. Now my acne is moderately severe. I don't think I got any of the long-term side effects, but I did start experiencing joint pain in my knees in 2009.

I personally haven't taken accutane so I don't know a lot about it but I have to say I don't think I would ever use it. No matter how much worse my acne gets. It's moderate/severe as it is now. Sure accutane works fine for a lot of people but I just personally don't want to take the risk of using it and developing side effects that don't go away once you stop using the drug or side effects that don't make themselves known until years later after stopping the drug. Like you said, I don't think I could live with myself...
I completely understand why people take it. Honestly, I'm just too scared of the possible side effects that I could develop.

You seem to live a healthy life with a good diet but did you look into food intolerance testing? Maybe there are specific foods that may trigger your acne. Also did you ever try the acne.org regimen or something similar? Maybe that's something to look into also...

Accutane cleared my skin for a couple months but all my acne returned. I took two long trials of it, almost a year each. I don't feel like the same person anymore. I can keep my acne under control with a non-processed foods diet. How is your digestion? I think digestion is the most important thing to consider if you don't have outright hormonal problems. Have you ever taken probiotics or kefir? Have you ever taken antibiotics?

Some people break out on too much b12. If you are eating a plant based diet, are you getting enough b vitamins? sun exposure? sleep? There's a lot to consider.

-Accutane twice - Worked for a little while, then it all came back. NOT WORTH IT! Read the Accutane research post (Including mine) to see how Accutane can screw up someone's body and even cause acne itself.-Differin, EpiDuo, BP. Tazorac, BHA, AHA - have used all of these at some point but never been more than 90% clear with any.-As of Nov. 2010 - Stay away from too many carbs, especially high GI carbs. We were made to eat raw foods, not anything from a box! Eat grassfed meats!-Trying to heal my gut with L-Glutamine, Zinc, and a lower-fat diet. Also trying iodine/selenium supplementation for thyroid.

There are things you can do that affect the same receptor in your skin that accutane does. Look into things that affect RXR (retinoid) and PPAR receptors. I posted some info and links in this thread on linoleic acid (one of the things that help) http://www.acne.org/...n/#entry3234944

Status: Clear after 30 years. Wow, I guess it's been 6 years, now.

[ Story: Severe Acne since I was 10. 10+ years of Dermatologists, Antibiotics, topicals and ACCUTANE did nothing. Discovered oranges triggered the worst of my cystic acne = about 70% improvement. Tried some nutrient supplements like B-complex with zinc and C, saw palmetto and a BHA like the aspirin mask = more improvement, a lot less oily. Then, Diet changes = Clear.

Regimen: Anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense, blood sugar stabilizing diet and supplements (for hormones, inflammation, aging, health). No soap or other cleanser except for hand washing! Water only or Oil cleanse. Aloe Vera mixed with niacinimide and a high linoleic acid oil for moisturizer and reduce pigmentation.